Market depth
Also called: depth, best five bids and offers
The best waiting buy and sell orders for a share, usually five on each side, showing how much could trade near the current price.
Market depth lists bid prices and quantities and ask prices and quantities. Deep markets have large quantities close to the current price, so trades move the price little. Shallow markets have small quantities and wide gaps, so even modest orders can move the price.
Example
A best bid of 1,200 shares at ₹512.30 and a best ask of 800 shares at ₹512.40 show a 10 paise spread with good size on both sides.
Learn more in these lessons
- Reading a stock quoteWhat do the numbers on a stock quote mean?
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